International Disaster Assistance

Description

The International Disaster Assistance (IDA) account provides critical humanitarian assistance to civilian populations in response to natural hazards, conflict and insecurity, and other sudden-onset emergencies in their home or host countries.

Use of Funds

Through the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, IDA funds support humanitarian services, including emergency food, water, shelter, health care, protection, and agricultural rehabilitation. Funds help countries prepare for, respond to, and recover from humanitarian crises and reduce underlying vulnerabilities through disaster risk reduction programming.

Justification

• In 2023, 339 million people, or one in 23, is expected to need humanitarian assistance, an increase of 274 million people from the beginning of 2022.
• Climate shocks and conflict, including the war in Ukraine, are driving a growing global hunger crisis. In 15 vulnerable countries, acute hunger pushes one child into severe malnutrition every minute.
• In 2021, the Emergency Event Database recorded 432 disastrous events related to natural hazards worldwide, which accounted for 10,492 deaths, affected 101.8 million people, and caused approximately $252.1 billion in economic losses.
• Rising operational costs and commodity prices coupled with high inflation are increasing the cost of humanitarian response. For example, the World Food Programme’s monthly food costs are now 30% higher than before the pandemic.